City of Heavenly Fire Fanfiction
by morgan831
Summary: This is my version of the first two chapters of the final book in the Mortal Instruments series. It takes place directly after City of Lost Souls. This is my first fan fiction, so please give me your honest feedback. I hope to write more in the future, so your reviews would help me write better fan fictions. I hope you like it! :-)
1. Chapter 1

City of Heavenly Fire Fan Fiction

Prologue

Alec stood in front of Magnus's apartment, staring at sadly. Magnus's words from earlier today repeated in his mind. _It's over. I don't want to see you again, Alec. Or any of your friends._

Alec used his apartment key for what he knew would be the last time. After entering, he set it onto the dining room table, along with a note that he hoped Magnus would read. Then, taking his time, he visited every room in Magnus's vast apartment. The whole place smelled like sandalwood, and was filled with items form hundreds of years ago.

His cat, Chairman Meow, was asleep on Magnus's bed, one that Alec and Magnus had once shared. Upon Alec's arrival into the bedroom, The Chairman awoke and hissed in his direction. He swept up the last of his belongings, and left.

Chapter One

Simon pressed the button and waited for the elevator door to open. Isabelle was holding his hand, but he still felt nervous. He checked the note that his sister had given him earlier. Sure that he had the right floor, he stuffed it back into his pocket. The elevator opened.

Isabelle squeezed his hand. "Are you ready?"

Simon nodded. "Yeah,"

When they made it to the third floor, Simon knocked on the door of apartment 32C. The door opened, revealing a dark haired girl with wide brown eyes.

"Hey," Rebecca said.

* * *

"So who's this?" Rebecca jerked her head towards Isabelle.

They were standing in the kitchen of Rebecca's small apartment. Rebecca was dressed brightly as usual, wearing a bright red T-shirt and a pair of denim boot cut jeans. She wore no makeup, but still looked pretty. Looking between the two girls, they seemed like complete opposites—considering the fact that Isabelle wore her black gear today, along with bright red lipstick and black liner around her eyes. She towered over Rebecca, who stood at five feet, four inches.

Simon was more confused than ever about his relationship with Isabelle. Although she had broken up with him and declared that they were never getting back together, he could see her hints of affection. He was still mostly sure that Isabelle was out of his league, so he tried to play it safe.

Simon cleared his throat. "This is my….." he glanced at Isabelle. "friend, Isabelle."

Rebecca looked at both of them and nodded. "Uhuh."

Simon knew that if he could have, he would have blushed. Isabelle's face was a bright red.

"Well," Isabelle said. "Come on then. Let's go."

They arrived at Elaine Lewis's house a half hour later. The religious signs were still painted on her door, but they had started to fade. The grass on the lawn was overgrown, making the house look completely different from the home Simon had grown up in.

"I don't think this is going to work," Simon said nervously.

"Don't worry, it will," said Rebecca.

"Yeah, and if she tries to hurt you, I'll kick her butt," said Isabelle.

Rebecca knocked on the door. A haggard, thin woman answered. Her hair was grey and knotted and she had dark circles under her eyes. Simon recognized her with a pang of guilt.

"Mom," he said.

Simon's mom's eyes widened as soon as she saw him.

"I thought I told you to get away from here!" Her voice was shaking.

"Mom, you don't understand, just let him explain," coaxed Rebecca.

"No, _you _don't understand!" His mother's voice had risen to hysteria. She pointed to Simon. "That's not Simon! That's a _monster."_

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "This is worse than I thought" she muttered. Talking louder, she said, "Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. If I were you, I'd just let us inside so we could talk this over."

"_You._" Simon's mother narrowed her eyes at Isabelle. Isabelle stared back, her beautiful face unfazed. "Did you do this to Simon? Did you kill my boy?" Elaine Lewis's eyes looked back and forth frantically.

Simon, Isabelle and Rebecca exchanged glances.

"Just let me explain," said Simon.

"I can't believe that you had the nerve to come here after corrupting your sister," Simon's mom spat at his feet. Her voice raised an octave as she began to pray.

Simon remembered that day a couple of weeks ago when his mother had found the bottles of blood in his mini-fridge. How he'd walked in, his jacket stained red, and she'd looked at him with cold, hateful eyes. Without realizing it, he let a single, crimson tear run down his cheek.

Rebecca's face was a mixture of horror and sadness. She put a hand on his shoulder.

Simon tried again, this time using a voice that wasn't his own.

"Let us inside and we can talk," he said, this time sounding smoother and more melodic. "There's no need to be scared."

"There's no need to be scared," Simon's mother echoed, eyes glazed over. She smiled warmly. "Well, come on in." For a moment, she sounded like the mother from his childhood.

As they followed her down the hall, Rebecca elbowed Simon. "What was that?"

"Glamour," Isabelle said.

Before Rebecca could say anything else, they made it into the living room.

They all sat down around the old, familiar coffee table. Taking turns, Isabelle, Rebecca and Simon explained everything about Shadow hunters and downworlders. Simon's mom listened silently, never interrupting with a question.

"I just wanted to say, it's me, Simon. If you still don't want me around, that's okay. I just wanted you to know the truth."

The sun was starting to set, and Simon could see the glamour starting to wear off. His mom glanced nervously at all of them, but she no longer looked crazed. When her eyes fell upon Simon, they widened—not in fear—in surprise. She walked towards him and cupped his face in her hands.

"It really is you," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm so sorry, so sorry…."

As he hugged her bony frame, he only felt numbness. He waited for that feeling of warmth and belonging he longed for, but nothing came. He still loved his mother, but he didn't feel any urge to move back in with her.

He pulled back, careful not to hurt her. His mother looked so fragile; he didn't want to break her.

Isabelle cleared her throat. "Let's get to the Institute; we've got a meeting to plan."

* * *

"Almost, try again," said Jace.

Clary sighed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't master the double flip. She had watched Jace do it flawlessly many times before, but it was impossible for her to emulate it. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand and looked at him with sad eyes.

"Are we done yet?" she asked, batting her eye lashes.

Jace didn't waver. "No. If you want to win the war against your brother, you'll have to master these basic moves before we can move onto weapon training."

Clary groaned and positioned herself the way Jace had shown her. Mentally bracing herself, she jumped to the next beam. Swinging off it, she used the momentum to turn her body. Although the harness prevented her from falling, her stomach dropped when she neared the ground. She tried to flip a second time, but she faltered half way around. Jace shook his head, clicking his tongue as she landed.

"Okay, remember what we talked about. When you try to flip a second time—"

Just then, Isabelle burst into the room. "Come to my room as soon as you can. We're going to discuss a battle plan."

"Right now?" Jace sounded annoyed. "We're in the middle of training."

"Well, your _training _can wait." Isabelle said. "Besides, I already called Alec. He's on his way."

"Fine, give us five minutes." Jace said.

Isabelle sighed and closed the doors of the training room.

"So," Clary said, the vast room echoing. "Should I try that one more—"

Jace interrupted her with a gentle kiss. At first, Clary's lips were frozen in surprise, but soon they began to move perfectly with his. His kiss began hesitant and restrained, but deepened into something strong and possessive. She had no idea how much time had passed before she pulled away.

"What was that for?" she asked.

Jace took a deep breath. "I want to remember this moment, just the way we are."

"Why?"

He stared deep into her eyes. "There might not be another one like it."

* * *

Isabelle waited in her room with Simon. It had been fifteen minutes since she'd talked to Clary and Jace, contacted Luke and Jocelyn, and she'd texted Jordan and Maia over a half hour ago. She'd tried to reach Magnus, but after four tries she'd given up. No one had arrived.

After their conversation with Mrs. Lewis, Rebecca had retreated to her apartment. Although she never would have admitted it, Isabelle had begun to like Rebecca. She reminded Isabelle so much of Simon. Not only did they look alike, but they were similar in the way they held themselves and the inflections of their voices.

Simon faced opposite of her, probably lost in thought. Isabelle had really believed that seeing his mother would have made him feel better, but his mood seemed to have stayed the same.

Despite his presence, she felt lonely. She longed to reach out to touch his shoulder, to position herself so that she was facing him. But she knew that she'd have to settle for the back of his head.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door. Isabelle called, "Come in," and it opened, revealing a lanky, dark haired person.

"Hey," Alec said. "Where is everyone?"

As he spoke, Isabelle looked at him closely. Now, there seemed to be a heaviness in the way he held himself, and his eyes looked weary and sad. When he ceased talking, he slumped into a chair and stared at the wall. Although he was tall, he looked smaller than Isabelle had ever seen him. The key that he'd always fingered so fondly was gone.

"Alec, where's your key?" she asked.

Alec looked disoriented. "What?"

Isabelle shook her head. "Never mind."

They'd talk about this later. As Clary and Jace entered the room, Isabelle knew they had bigger problems to deal with.

Chapter Two

When Maia and Jordan arrived at Isabelle's unofficial meeting, almost everyone was there. After looking around, a question popped into Maia's head. Where was the shiny guy?

" Okay, now that everyone's here—except for Magnus—we can get going. Where is Magnus anyway?" Isabelle said.

Everyone looked and Alec expectantly. After a few moments, he shrugged half-heartedly.

"Why should I know?" he snapped. "I don't always have to know where he is."

Maia was taken aback. Alec was never this grumpy, and where ever Magnus was, Alec stood by his side.

Isabelle blinked. "Okay then,"

An awkward silence followed. After a couple of minutes, Luke spoke up.

"Sebastian could be anywhere by now." he said. "Knowing him, he probably has demons flanking him everywhere, so we must always be on the lookout. Beware of the Agramon—you may need to ask Clary to draw you a fearless rune before any encounters with Sebastian. I'll ask Magnus—if we ever find him—to use a tracking spell to find Sebastian's general location."

"What should we do with him once we find him?" asked Isabelle. "Should we give him to the Clave, or should we kill him ourselves?"

"That's a good question," Jocelyn said.

"We should kill him ourselves," said Jace. "I want to do it,"

"Why?" Simon asked.

All eyes were on Jace now. Jace's bloodlust reminded Maia of her first encounter with him, at a lycanthrope bar. Of course, he had started a fight, and she had decided then that she hated him. Looking back on it, that day, Jace reminded her so much of her abusive brother, it was impossible not to dislike him. He was obviously violent, and very beautiful. But the more time she spent with him, the more her feelings of hate lessened.

That being said, Jace was still a jerk. But he cared for Clary more than her brother could have cared about anyone, and Maia suspected that his love for Clary was his reason for wanting to slaughter Sebastian himself.

"Sebastian hurt me more than he hurt anyone else." Jace said. " He murdered Max and hurt Isabelle. He tried to kill me, and then he brainwashed me. He murdered a member of his family, and hurt Clary. No one with that much blood on his hands should live, and I should be the one to give him what he deserves."

"We have to be careful about how we carry this out," Jocelyn remarked. "We can't be too rash."

"Yeah, and you're not the only one who got hurt here, Jace," said Isabelle. "He killed _my_ brother."

"He was my brother too!" Maia wondered if Jace knew how childish he sounded.

Clary put a hand on Jace's shoulder. "The point is, we've all lost something to him. We need to come up with a substantial plan before we start beheading people left and right."

Jace sighed in resignation.

"So what _is _the plan?" asked Simon.

"I don't think a flat out ambush would work out very well." said Alec.

"So what do you think we should do?" asked Jocelyn.

"We shouldn't just barge in and try to kill him." remarked Alec. "He'll be ready for that. What we need to do is infiltrate from the inside. We need to either convince him that we're on his side, or let him take one of us as prisoner. That way we'll know exactly where he staying, and all of the holes in his plan."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"I'll go," Jace said.

"I don't think you should," said Alec. "He'd expect something like this from you or Clary. We should probably use someone who's not really on his radar."

"What about me?" Simon asked.

The whole room stared at him in disbelief.

"What?" said Simon, incredulous. "He'll never suspect me. Usually he's got his eye on Clary and Jace, but he probably doesn't think I'm smart enough to thwart him."

"That's because you not," said Jace.

Clary shot Jace a death glare. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Simon's right about Sebastian not suspecting him," said Luke.

"Everyone in favor of Simon being taken as prisoner say Aye," Jocelyn said.

"Aye!" most everyone said.

"Well, that's settled," said Clary.

"Speaking of that tracking spell we were talking about, does anyone have any idea where Magnus is?" Isabelle sounded annoyed. " I've called him four times, and no one answered."

"That's strange of Magnus," Luke remarked. "Usually he's really prompt."

Alec's expression was one that Maia could not recognize right away. He fixed his face immediately, and Maia began to think about his earlier crabbiness. Something had definitely happened between him and Magnus; it was obvious that the invisible ties that had held them together were severed. Maia suddenly felt a stab of sympathy for Alec. Magnus had broken up with him, and it was killing Alec to hide it.

* * *

Magnus lay on the couch in his apartment; chines take out boxes strewn across the floor. His phone buzzed again, and he fished it out of his deep pocket. He waited until the vibrating subsided.

Five missed calls from Isabelle.

Oops.

Looking around his living space, Magnus noticed a change in the atmosphere. It looked tired, dirty, and empty—apart from the fast food bags and boxes that were creating a stench in the living room. It took him a moment to remember what was missing.

Alec.

Magnus's heart sank as he went to retrieve Alec's key from the dining room. When he neared the table, he noticed a piece of lined paper underneath the key. Picking it up, Magnus immediately recognized Alec's neat but masculine handwriting.

_Dear Magnus,_

_Earlier today I cleared all of my stuff out of your apartment, and I hope that I didn't leave anything behind._

_I'm not going to make excuses; I'm just going to say I'm sorry. I never should have considered shortening your life, even if I wasn't going to go through with it._

_All that I can say is that I had never been in love before, and I guess I found out that my love can cloud my judgment._

_I still can't stand the thought of losing you, and I hope you didn't mean it when you said that you never wanted to see me again. Hopefully in the future, we can still be friends._

_Love,_

_Alec._

Magnus reread the note twice before a tear slid down his cheek. He picked up the note and concentrated.

A small flame appeared at the top of the piece of paper. It grew and moved town, engulfing the note in fire. Soon, the flame disappeared, leaving no ashes in its wake.

Just then, Magnus's phone vibrated. He recognized the phone number immediately: Alec. Hesitantly, he answered.

"Hello?"

He heard someone sharply inhale. Then there was nothing.

Magnus sighed. Staying away from Alec would take some effort.

* * *

Simon left the institute and made his way over to Rebecca's place. When he neared the door, a familiar scent wafted from the apartment: blood.

He knocked on the door and yelled, "Rebecca!". No one answered. He tried the door,, and it was locked. Simon kicked it open easily, and gasped at what he saw.

The apartment looked as if it had been ransacked. A lamp lay broken on the floor. Pieces of furniture looked as if they'd been thrown across the room. Two red handprints were smeared across the wall.

Simon stepped forward to examine the markings. The hands were obviously feminine, delicate and small. Their crimson hue suggested that they'd been bleeding.

Among the wreckage was a note.

_She isn't the last one._


	2. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

In the evening, Clary knocked on Isabelle's door. The meeting had ended with the decision that Simon would be taken captive by Sebastian. Clary had accepted this with a heavy heart, and the conversation had continued; they had completely worked out the logistics of the plan, and all Simon had to do was put himself out there. The meeting adjourned, Simon had gone to visit Rebecca, and the rest of the group had dispersed.

"Come in," Izzy yelled from inside.

Clary sat in front of Isabelle's vanity table and asked awkwardly,

"So…..um… Is it just me, or did Alec seem a little off?"

Isabelle nodded in agreement. "Yeah! I haven't seen him so down in the dumps since…." She trailed off. "Anyway, he left this note on the door of the institute."

Isabelle handed Clary a yellow Post-it note.

_Dear Izzy,_

_Went out. Don't wait up._

_A._

Clary eyed the note. "He's probably at Magnus's. He'll sort it out. He's not really an emotional guy."

"But did you see his face at the meeting? He looked kind of depressed."

The door burst open.

"Seriously, if you're going to come in, you should….." Isabelle trailed off when she saw Simon's face.

"What happened?" asked Clary, her voice full of concern.

Sounding distraught, Simon recounted what he'd seen in Rebecca's apartment. The girls listened soundlessly until he was finished.

"So what should we do?" asked Simon.

For a few minutes, they tried coming up with ideas, most of them failing. Clary knew that they couldn't do this by themselves. They needed backup.

"Call Alec." She ordered.

Isabelle looked dejected. "Can't. Alec left his phone here." She held up a black cell phone.

"What about Luke and Jocelyn?" Simon suggested.

"Can't." said Clary. "Mom's picking out a dress and I really don't want to ruin that for her. Also, Luke has a thing."

"A thing?" asked Jocelyn.

"He wouldn't tell me what it is," said Clary.

"So," Simon said. "Let's find Alec."

* * *

Alec sat alone at the bar at Taki's, sipping on a large coke. He tried not to notice the faeries sitting next to him, gossiping about him. At first glance, they looked like regular humans, (two teenage blonde girls) but after he stripped the glamour away, he could see their pointed ears and unnerving eyes.

"That's Alec Lightwood." said one of them.

"Where?" asked the other.

"Right next to me. Don't look."

"Wait, isn't he the one that kissed Magnus Bane in front of the entire Clave?"

"Shhhh."

Turning to leave, he paused when he saw a familiar face: Maureen.

Last time they'd spoken, her hands had been caked with Camille Belcourt's blood, and she'd told him, laughing in delight, that she'd killed her.

Alec remembered what Maureen had been like before she'd been Turned. She'd been to all Simon's band concert, and been Simon's one and only fan (besides his mom). The next time he'd seen her, she'd been laughing about how she'd murdered someone.

_Alec stared at Maureen in surprise. "You—you did what?"_

_ Maureen rolled her eyes. "I _said_, I killed her."_

_ Alec stammered, "H—how?"_

_ "You see, I had everyone fooled. Even Camille!" she let out a high-pitched giggle. "Can you believe it? As soon as I was Turned, I became her most trusted servant. I learned all of her secrets, all of her plans of escape. I did everything for her. At first, she fed me little bits of information, just enough to do her dirty work. But the more I stuck around, the sloppier she became with her secrecy. I made her believe that I would never leave her side; I acted timid, scared, and weak. But the whole time, I was becoming stronger. As she taught me what it meant to be a vampire, she also taught me all of her tricks, ones that I would eventually use against her."_

_ Alec was confused. "So, why did you kill her?"_

_ "As time progressed, I realized that she had everything I've always wanted. She was respected, worshipped even. And then she gave me the key to her demise: she told me that in order to be head vampire, you needed to kill the one that was currently in place. When she told me that she was planning to head to back to London, I knew that I was running out of time._

_ "So, when she was about to leave to meet you," she pointed to Alec. "I asked her a stupid question. 'Do vampires have a heart?' she laughed, condescending and cruel. 'Of course we do, but they don't beat. Feel for yourself' I placed my hand over her heart and ripped it out. She screamed, and doubled over. While she was disoriented, I grabbed the sword I had hidden near the table, and cut off her head in a single blow. Then I threw it in the fire place."_

_ Alec unconsciously took a step backward. Despite the fact that he had come with the intent to kill, he couldn't imagine a worse fate for Camille. _

Now, Maureen sat at a table with boys, physically a few years older than her, who he assumed were vampires. They seemed to be in deep conversation, probably about her head vampire position. Her blonde ringlets bounced as she nodded several times. The bubbly fourteen year old was gone, replaced by a ruthless, cold-blooded killer.

Alec left his drink on the table, pushed passed the irfits guarding the diner, and exited to the streets of Manhattan. He didn't know how long he'd been walking, but as the sun began to set, he guessed that it had been a while.

Before he knew it, he'd come to a familiar place. Magnus's apartment building glistened in the moonlight. The cool breeze chilled his skin, and he wished he'd worn more than a black T-shirt and beet up jeans. As he neared it, the residence faded from view. Cursing under his breath, he turned around and ran right into a pale, blonde figure.

Maureen.

She giggled. "Oh hey, Alec. What are you doing out so late?"

"I—um…"

"Wait—don't tell me…" she pretended to think. "Stalking Magnus, right?"

Alec tried not to let her bother him. "What do you want?"

"Nothing…just to chat."

Maureen sat on a nearby bench and patted the space beside her. Alec hesitantly lowered himself next to her.

"What were you talking about with those other vampires?"

"Wow…. Camille said that you were straightforward. Not that it's any of your business, but we were just…. Tying up loose ends."

"Tying up loose ends?" Alec was puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Maureen giggled. "Follow me and I'll be more specific."

* * *

Clary crept silently to Jace's room and knocked on the door. He opened it, wearing nothing but boxers and house shoes. Clary sucked in a breath and tried to focus on his face.

"Isabelle and I need you. Come with me."

"Why?" Jace asked.

Clary sighed. "We need to find Alec."

Jace blinked. "Why?" he asked again.

"We'll tell you once we get there."

"Okay. Wait just a second."

Jace shut the door as Clary leaned against the wall. He reappeared moments later, wearing blue jeans a white T-shirt that was tight against his skin. He smiled at her and reached for her hand. Clary knew that she was blushing, and turned her face so Jace couldn't see. When they came in contact, it was like touching a stove top.

"Oww!" she cursed under her breath.

Jace looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, I've been trying to keep it under control."

He reached for her, thought better of it, and withdrew his hand.

"It's okay," Clary gushed. "Just follow me."

She led him down the hallway to Isabelle's room.

The door was already ajar, and they entered to a worried looking Isabelle and a frantic looking Simon. Jace seemed to be taking it all in.

"So what's up?" he asked.

When Simon didn't speak, Isabelle filled the silence. "Rebecca's missing."

Jace nodded thoughtfully. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"I found this note." said Simon.

He handed Jace a white piece of paper. Jace read it twice before looking up.

"What does this have to do with Alec?"

"We need everyone here to figure out what to do about this." said Isabelle.

"So you and Simon are going to look for him." Clary added.

"Why do I have to go with Simon?" Jace asked.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Because, you're his _parabatai." _she said. "You might be able to sense when you're near him or something."

"No, why do I have to go with _him?"_ Jace jerked his head toward Simon (who was wearing a worded tee that said, "I'M WITH STUPID").

"Because with Simon's enhanced senses, maybe he can….." Clary searched for the right word. "Smell him…..or something."

Jace gave Clary a withering look. At this point, she knew that he would give in.

"Well," he said to Simon. "Lead the way, bloodhound."

* * *

Simon looked back at the institute as they exited. He remembered when it was invisible to him, as it was to all mundanes. Now it towered over him in the form of a giant gothic cathedral. The change in the institute's appearance reflected the change in his life.

"Where are we going?" he asked Jace.

"To Magnus's place." Jace answered.

"Isn't that a long way from here?"

"That's why we're taking a taxi."

Simon sighed. The sun had completely set, and stars dotted the sky. The streets of Manhattan were busy as always, and Simon strained his eyes in hopes of seeing a yellow car. Soon, one appeared, and Jace waved it down. He muttered something to the taxi driver before climbing in the back. Simon followed and shut the door behind him.

As the car rolled forward, Simon caught the look on Jace's face. It only stayed for a brief moment before he replaced it with a blank mask.

"Hey, Jace, is something bothering you?" Simon knew it sounded lame as soon as he said it.

Jace looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, you can tell me."

Jace sighed. "I like to keep my problems to myself."

"And you can't even tell me?"

"I definitely can't tell you. I don't even like you. And besides, I usually don't confide in vampires."

The rode in silence while Simon stared out the window. After a few minutes, Jace opened up.

"Something tells me that Alec isn't at Magnus's place."

"How do you know that?" Simon inquired

"I can just _feel_ it. Something's not right with him." said Jace.

Simon sighed and awkwardly put a hand on Jace's shoulder. "It's okay. We'll just go to Magnus's place, and Magnus might have some idea of what happened to Alec."

Jace stared at Simon's hand that still rested on his shoulder. Simon withdrew it and put it by his side. The fact that he would never grow to be as tall as Jace still bothered him. Jace radiated superiority, even as he sulked about Alec.

"Let me get this straight." Jace crossed his arms. "You think that while there is definitely something wrong with Alec, who is probably far away from the institute, we can find him in time to come up with a plan of saving your sister, who was probably kidnapped by Clary's evil brother Sebastian?"

Simon blinked. The way Jace put it, things seemed pretty bleak. Regardless, he tried to remain optimistic. "Yeah, man. We can do it." He held out his fist for a knuckle punch.

Jace's arms remained crossed; Simon's hand hovered for a minute before falling into his lap. The taxi eased to a stop in front of Magnus's apartment.

"Give this to the cab driver." Jace handed Simon a wad of fifty dollar bills. He got out and started towards Magnus's place.

Simon stepped out of the car and handed the taxi driver the money through the passenger window. As their hands touched, Simon felt a disturbing warm sensation trickle up his arm.

The taxi driver was a werewolf.

The lupine driver winked and sped off.


	3. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"What time is it?" Alec asked.

"A quarter to midnight," answered Maureen.

They came to an empty corner in Brooklyn, or so it seemed. Alec peeled away the glamour and the spot revealed itself to be a dark crevice between two broken buildings. They walked through the crack and headed down a dark walkway. It sloped downward, towards something unknown. The walls were slippery and grimy, and the only light was from a small crack in the ceiling; moonlight barley streamed in. The earthy ground was uncomfortable through the thin soles of his sneakers.

The eerie silence disturbed Alec. "Where are we going?"

"To see some friends of mine," said Maureen.

They came to a sharp turn. The pathway widened to a large clearing. They were well underground now, and the circular walls looked as if they were made of dirt. Standing as if they expected someone were the men that Alec had seen at Taki's. They looked to be in their late teens, but there eyes conveyed old age.

Maureen greeted them formally. "Benjamin, Vincent. I brought what you asked for."

Alec turned around, ready to run. But to his dismay, two other vampires had appeared, now guarding the entrance.

"Step forward." the ginger-haired one ordered.

When Alec didn't budge, Maureen shoved him forward with supernatural strength.

The brunette nodded. "Yes, Benjamin. He'll do just fine."

Maureen had moved to stand slightly in front of them. "I knew you'd come. A weak-minded individual like you wouldn't know better. Regardless, we need you. And you will comply."

Alec tried to remain calm. "Why do you need me?"

Vincent nodded. "Your friend, Simon Lewis, he is a daylighter, is he not?"

Alec nodded.

"Can you tell me how he came to be that way?"

"I can," Alec answered. "But I won't."

Benjamin chuckled. "I would like you to look around. What do you see?"

Alec remained silent.

"I guess I will have to answer that. Next to me are two vampires. One of which, admittedly, is barely a fledgling, but the other and experienced vampire, who is hundreds of years old. Now, look behind you. Guarding the only exit are two other vampires."

Vincent said, " What he is trying to say is that you have no chance, young Nephilim warrior. You are clearly outnumbered, and you have no weapon."

Vincent was wrong about that. In the lower pocket of Alec's jeans was a dagger he always carried around, just in case.

"Yeah, so you better talk." said Maureen.

Behind her, Benjamin rolled his eyes. Alec could tell they didn't like taking orders from a fourteen-year-old, and they weren't going to keep her around for long. Unfortunately, Maureen's imperceptiveness would lead to her downfall. _If only I could get her to see that, _Alec thought.

"I will ask you one more time," said Vincent. "How did Simon come to be a Daylighter?"

Alec pondered his answer. He was always a terrible liar. "Umm, I don't know."

They moved towards him. The guards by the door stepped forward and pushed Alec to a kneeling position. Then they held his hands firmly behind his back. Vincent stepped behind him and held Alec's head firmly to face Maureen. Benjamin pressed two fingers to a spot on Alec's neck. Maureen stood in front of them, watching it all.

"Do not lie again." said Benjamin. "Here's how this will work. Maureen will ask the questions, and you will answer truthfully. If you lie, your heart beat will quicken, and I will feel it on your throat. I will give Vincent the signal, and he will snap your neck, killing you instantly. Do you understand?"

Alec grimaced. "Yes."

"Then we may proceed." said Vincent.

"One more time," said Maureen. "How did Simon come to be a Daylighter?"

"He drank Jace's blood." Alec said.

"So it is true then," said Benjamin. "All we need to do is drink the blood of a Shadowhunter and we too will be able to walk in sunlight."

"That's right, isn't it?" said Vincent.

Alec closed his eyes. He needed to find a way out of this. He needed—

"ISN'T IT?" Maureen yelled.

"Yes." said Alec.

"Then there is only one more step." said Benjamin, withdrawing his hand from Alec's throat.

Maureen giggled happily. "Finally."

She sauntered towards Alec. He tried to run, but Vincent's grip was still firm on his head. He felt Maureen teeth sink deep into his neck. Something else impaled the other side of his nape. Benjamin. Alec's head pounded as they drank heavily. He began to feel dizzy, and started to see spots. Just then, every vampire in the room was pushed backward by an invisible force.

Maureen slumped against the wall. For a moment, Alec thought she was dead. Slowly she raised her head and squinted. "Who are you?"

A blue skin lady stepped forward. She had snow white hair, or so Alec thought. He might have been hallucinating from the blood loss.

"I'm Catarina."

That was the last thing he heard before sinking into darkness.

* * *

Jace stood with Simon in front of Magnus's apartment. As he stuffed his hands in his pockets, Simon rang the doorbell. Jace could hear it echo throughout the vast dwelling. Moments later, a booming voice rang out through the intercom.

"WHO DARES TO DISTURBE THE HIGH WARLOCK OF BROOKLYN?!"

"Uh…."said Simon. "Simon and Jace."

This time, the voice was a lot friendlier. "Okay, you can come in. Hold on."

Magnus opened the door. He looked as if he'd just dragged himself out of bed; his hair, which was normally up in spikes, fell in a tangled mess to his shoulders. He was completely free of makeup.

Jace stepped inside. "By the angel,"

The place reeked of old food. The normally clean carpet was littered with wrappers and boxes.

Simon glanced around. "Is Alec here?"

"Not anymore," said Magnus. "He _was_ just outside of my apartment, just standing there. What a lost soul he is. Luckily, I concealed it from his view."

"You sound pissed." said Jace. "Were you two in a fight?"

"You could say that,"

Jace stared at Magnus intently, in a way that he knew brought most girls to their knees, and some guys, for that matter.

"We broke up." Magnus blurted.

"Oh….." said Simon. "So that's why you're depressed,"

"I _am not_ depressed," asserted Magnus.

"It's pretty obvious you're depressed." observed Simon. After an awkward silence, he added, "I'm sorry though. I know that you….loved him….and all."

_Wow, he really sucks at this_, Jace thought. He quickly returned to the subject at hand. "Do you have any idea where he is?"

"No," said Magnus. "I severed all ties with him as soon as we broke up."

"Well, would you help us find him? "asked Simon.

"No. As I told Alexander, I'm done being your pet warlock. I did everything for you all. I pulled you out of every silly situation you found yourselves in, and all for him. And what did he do? He tried to shorten my life!"

Magnus slumped on a nearby sofa and put his head in his hands.

"He did what?" Jace was astonished.

"He said he wasn't going to do it," Magnus's voice was muffled. "But I didn't believe him."

"Why would he do something like that?"

"He'll have to explain that for himself."

Simon sat down next to Magnus. "Look, I get that you're upset. But don't think you're not hurting anyone by bowing out like this. We need you, more than we ever have. You said that in one hundred years, it's just going to be you and me. And I'm never going to forgive you if we lose the war because you went through a tough breakup."

"I don't need your forgiveness," said Magnus. "But I'll think about it. In the meantime, I'm going to start packing. I might head to London while this whole thing blows over."

Jace tried this time. "I know you're still in love with Alec. And if something happened to him, you'd be devastated. I don't exactly know the context of his actions, but something tells me he wouldn't do that with poor intention. But don't punish the world for his actions. Come and help us. And at least answer Isabelle's calls."

Magnus thought about this. "Wait just a second while I get dressed."

* * *

Isabelle was worried sick when she heard a knock on the institute's door. She had been in the library trying to read, while Clary illustrated her thoughts into her sketchbook. Isabelle fervently texted Jace.

_R U outside?_

A second later, he replied.

_On my way._

This time, the door bell sounded. They both got up and answered the door. Isabelle screamed at what she saw.

Suspended in the air was Alec, blood trickling from both sides of his neck. His head lolled forward, his eyes closed with sleep. A shocking blue figure stepped out from behind him. Catarina.

"He's alive," she said. "And I tried to slow the blood flow."

* * *

"What happened?" asked Clary.

They were in the infirmary, gazing upon Alec. They'd pulled up chairs next to his bed while Catarina explained.

"I don't know exactly. When I found him, two vampires were feeding on him." Catarina said.

"He has no Marks. Why would he put himself in that position with no Marks?" Isabelle said.

"He probably wasn't paying attention. When I touched him, I could feel that he has experienced a lot of pain in his life, some of which was very recent."

Isabelle could see Catarina staring at him. "He's a handsome one," Catarina remarked.

"Yeah well, he's taken." said Isabelle.

"Not anymore," said a familiar voice.

Isabelle turned around. Magnus leaned against the doorframe, Simon and Jace behind him. From far away, he looked like he always did: spiked up hair, and a glittery outfit. But looking closely, he appeared sad and lonely.

"You can have him." he continued. "Though I'm not sure you're his type."

Caterina turned an even deeper shade of blue.

"Magnus! What are you doing here?" asked Clary.

"Yeah, and what do you mean he's not taken?" added Isabelle.

Jace shoved past Magnus. "Magnus has agreed to help us!" he said with exaggerated enthusiasm.

As Jace went to stand by Clary, Simon awkwardly pulled a chair next to Isabelle, making screeching noises as he went.

"What happened to him?" asked Jace.

As Caterina explained, Magnus kept staring at Alec. Alec's long, muscular legs almost hung over the hospital bed, and they wiggled as he began to stir. Clary and Isabelle moved to draw _iratzes_ on his neck, and Alec began to relax.

"So, what, Alec just sauntered into the vampire den and let them eat him? That doesn't seem like something Alec would do." Jace said.

"Once he wakes up, you can ask him," said Clary.

"I think I'm going to stay here for the night," said Isabelle.


	4. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Leaving Alec and Isabelle in the infirmary, the rest of the gang went to the institute's library. They sat around a square table just by the window. All of the lights had been turned on, and Clary figured that it was about ten o'clock at night. She looked at the clock, and was shocked to see that it was after two in the morning.

"Should we call Luke and Jocelyn?" asked Jace.

"No," said Clary. "At this hour, we probably shouldn't bother them. They're probably crashing at Luke's place."

Clary knew she should be tired, but today's occurrences kept her revved up. She glanced across the table at Catarina, whose dark blue skin contrasted with the pale golden color pallet of the library. To Clary, Catarina looked like a walking bottle of toothpaste.

"…..and then I just brought him here." Catarina finished.

Clary chided herself for daydreaming. "I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

The whole group stared at her in disbelief.

"Catarina was just explaining how she came across Alec," Magnus said patiently. He looked at Clary with concern. "Are you a bit tired?"

"No," Clary said hastily, "No, I'm not. I just got a little distracted."

"Okay then."

As various people chattered on, Clary's eyes began to feel heavy. Soon, she stopped fighting it, and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Isabelle had been trying unsuccessfully to fall asleep next to Alec. She'd taken the hospital bed next to him and turned off all of the lights. She could hear him breathing, though is breaths were shaky and ragged. Isabelle turned away from him, and tried to think about something else. She curled up unto a ball and closed her eyes.

When sleep didn't come, Isabelle unfurled and climbed out of bed. She crept towards Alec and leaned over him.

Alec was moving fitfully in his sleep, his body covered in sweat. His hair was plastered to his forehead and his face was flushed. He moaned and lay on his back. He stayed motionless for a moment, and Isabelle leaned forward to examine his wounds.

The cuts on his neck were completely healed and the bruises on his body were gone. She felt his forehead. He was burning up.

"Is he okay?"

Magnus had appeared next to her.

"Yeah, he seems a little feverish though." replied Isabelle.

With his lightly muscled arms crossed over his chest, and his black bed-head hanging over his youthful face, it was hard to believe that Magnus was over eight hundred years old. Physiologically, he still acted like a seventeen year old who knew a lot. He looked concerned and sad, and while Isabelle pretended not to look, he reached and stroked Alec's face.

Suddenly, Alec screamed and opened his eyes. Isabelle held him as he flailed.

"Shh. Shh. Alec, it's okay. It's me. And, Magnus is—"

Magnus was nowhere in sight.

Alec sat back, breathing heavily. He looked at her in surprise.

"Izzy?"

Isabelle nodded.

"Sorry Iz. Nightmare."

"What happened?"

Alec gave an abbreviated version of what had happened to him that night. His voice rose as he recounted; he seemed really shaken up. When he finished, anger boiled up in Isabelle's chest.

"_You told him about Simon_?" Isabelle shouted.

"They were going to _kill_ me!" Alec yelled.

"And you left the house with no Marks! What were you thinking?"

"I….. I…." his voice broke. "I wasn't."

Isabelle's rage melted, replaced by tenderness. "Alec. Alec, look at me. Why were you so upset yesterday?"

Alec was silent.

"Why did Magnus say that you weren't taken?"

"Magnus is here?" Alec said hopefully.

"That's not the point."

Isabelle thought for a moment. Earlier, Alec hadn't been holding his key in the meeting. He'd left the institute without explanation (which he rarely did) leaving only a hastily scribbled note. Magnus seemed depressed.

"Did Magnus break up with you?" Isabelle whispered.

Alec nodded.

"Why?"

"I can't tell you that," he looked away.

"Please? You can tell me anything."

"Look, Isabelle. What happened between Magnus and me was complicated, and I don't want to get into that right now. All you need to know is that I'm fine."

Alec looked far from fine. He wasn't very good at hiding his emotions. But Isabelle didn't push the subject.

"So now Maureen and Benjamin are daylighters."

"Pretty much."'

"And also, other vampires will be after us so that they can be daylighters."

"Right again."

"Well then," said Isabelle. "We've got more problems than we thought."

The sun started to rise, sending rays of golden light through the windows of the infirmary. Alec tugged on Isabelle's hair affectionately as they watched it together. The beginnings of dawn were here, and they had a long day ahead of them.


End file.
